Six

Luke was secretly relieved when his parents decided to depart Naboo two days later and head into the Outer Rim to spend time with Anakin's family on Tatooine. Although he wasn't eager to say goodbye to his grandmother, aunt, or cousins especially in exchange for a barren "dust ball" as his father so grimly described it, he was happy to put some distance between Leia and her mysterious new "friend." Luke had hoped that Leia would become less crazed when she was no longer in the old woman's orbit, but it seemed to him that the situation with his sister only became worse. Whereas before Leia had only been wary and distant towards Anakin, now she was openly hostile to him.

She'd refused to leave Padmé alone with Anakin at any time and had spent the past two nights, first on the ship and later when they reached Tatooine, camped outside of their parents' quarters like a stalwart sentinel. Luke had his doubts that she had slept at all in those two days. Her eyes held a perpetual bloodshot quality and were smudged with dark color, attesting to her insomnia. And with the lack of sleep, Leia's paranoia only increased.

For two days he had listened to her mutter incessantly about mind control and deceptive facades. Anyone who held any sort of affection for their father, outside of their mother, was automatically her enemy. She even held Owen and Beru Lars in suspicion and their aunt and uncle had been nothing but welcoming to them. For that reason, Luke was careful not to leave himself unguarded in the Force, not because he wanted to keep aloof from his father, but because he knew Leia was always listening.

Her odd behavior had become so over the top that Luke was beginning to have difficulty covering her mania. It was apparent even to his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, who didn't even know Leia all that well, that something alarming was going on with her. But Luke suspected that the couple was as hesitant to broach the subject with his parents as he was, even with the escalating tension. And they were adults!

Still, Luke empathized with their unease. He didn't want to do anything that would further rock his family unit. But, despite his efforts, it felt like their familial bond with one another was slowly beginning to unravel, thread by precious thread. Everyone was worried, but no one was talking. Then again, Luke was still firmly in the mindset that talking might only make things worse. Each time his mother even broached the idea of going to his father about Leia's suspicions, Luke feared that his entire world would implode. All he really wanted to do was keep his family together.

That was easier said than done. Everyone was too on edge. The stress was starting to eat away at him. It was too heavy a burden for his young shoulders to bear on his own any longer. Luke felt as if he was watching his sister steadily descend into madness, and he had no idea how to help her. He needed guidance but involving his parents would only drive Leia deeper inside herself. He had to find the truth and he needed to do it quickly. Consequently, Luke decided to begin his search with Obi-Wan Kenobi.

According to Leia, Ben had been present in that awful vision. Allegedly, he had witnessed the moment when Anakin had mercilessly attacked their pregnant mother. He had ordered Anakin to release her and had even tried to coax Padmé away from him by warning her of his evil. Surely if such a dreadful confrontation had occurred, Ben could corroborate the story. But Luke hardly knew a casual way of inquiring, "Do you recall a time when my father tried to brutally murder my mother?" That question seemed far too ridiculous to voice aloud and so random that Luke was sure if he asked it, Ben would likely reach out to his father right after. That was a possibility he couldn't risk.

Instead, Luke planned to keep his line of questioning more subtle. Perhaps begin with some small talk before delving into the weightier matters of his father's dark and complicated past. Leia had implied that their father had done something awful, something that had estranged him from the Jedi Order completely. Luke was curious about that because he had always sensed his father's discomfort with the Jedi Order, even from the time when he was very young. He had always wondered by his father chose to keep himself separate from the Order.

Though Luke had been dedicated to the Temple when he was barely three years old, truly only a matter of months before it had been destroyed by the Empire, he knew from the stories that he had been told that Anakin had withdrawn from the Order when he was just a padawan…and he had never returned. Luke had always found that odd, especially because his father was considered their revered "Chosen One." He'd asked Ben and Ahsoka about it in the past, but neither of them had ever provided him with a straight answer. He wondered if Ben might be more forthcoming with him now.

Obi-Wan answered his communication almost immediately which was welcome, but also jarring. His ethereal, smiling visage illuminated over the portable link on Luke's wrist before the young man even had mentally formulated his greeting. Somewhat flustered, Luke managed to offer his mentor a weak smile in return and blurted the first thing that came to his mind.

"I'm so glad to see you!" The greeting was emphatic and sincere. "I really miss you, Ben."

"I miss you as well, my young padawan," Obi-Wan answered without hesitation, "To what do I owe this marvelous surprise? How are things?"

"They're good."

His old mentor was hardly deceived by Luke's jaunty attempt to be flippant. "Are they truly?" he questioned mildly, "I'm rather shocked to hear from you so soon. I was sure you would be preoccupied with your father's return for some time to come."

"We're on Tatooine now," Luke replied, "We just arrived yesterday morning. There's not a whole lot to do out here."

"Oh? So, you contacted me out of sheer boredom then, did you?" Obi-Wan laughed.

"That is not true."

"I'm sure it isn't," Obi-Wan chuckled dubiously, "How is your sister?"

"She's fine. I think she's trying to adjust to Dad being around again. I am too."

Luke imagined that his conflicted feelings must have been readily detectible in his tone because Obi-Wan immediately asked, "Luke, has something happened with Anakin?"

"No, he's fine! Everything is fine!" he flared quickly, hoping fervidly that Ben didn't easily pick up on his lie, "It's only that…well…" He flailed verbally for a few beats, internally rehearsing the best way to begin before finally exclaiming, "You were with Dad when he made the final push against General Tarkin before the war ended. Did…did he say anything to you or…or act differently at all?"

He expected Obi-Wan to press him on what he meant by "act differently" or, in typical fashion, make a flippant joke about how his father had always been an oddity, but instead he surprised Luke when he said with all seriousness, "Your father has always been a very complicated man, Luke. What happened on Mortis changed him profoundly. That is what you're feeling. Nothing more."

"How did you know I was asking about Mortis?"

"You've not been the only one to question it. But underneath everything, the truth remains. He loves you deeply, and that has not changed."

"What has changed, Ben?" Luke pressed softly, "I feel like you know, but you won't tell me."

"It is your father's story to recount, not mine. But you have nothing to fear. He is the same man that he has always been. You can trust him."

"My trust isn't the problem."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing," Luke mumbled, "Well, if you won't tell me what you know about Mortis then tell me this…why did my father leave the Order all those years ago? What happened?"

"I've told you before, your father needed something the Order could not give him. He had to leave, for his own sake."

"But why?" Luke insisted.

"Why are you so obsessed with knowing the reason?" Obi-Wan sighed, "Why can you not let it go?"

"For the same reason you seemed equally obsessed with not giving me a reason!" Luke retorted, "I don't understand why no one can ever give me a straight answer!"

"It is not your place to know everything, young one!"

Luke bristled at the stern rebuttal, not because he didn't know on some level that it was true but because he didn't like hearing it. After all, that was the same thing that he had been telling Leia for weeks now. However, Luke now understood how very condescending and insulting the counsel sounded. It was simply another variation of "You're too young to understand," and that never failed to infuriate him.

"It's a simple question, Ben! Why did he leave? Why was being a Jedi good enough for me and Leia, but not for him?"

"It isn't a matter of being 'good enough.' Anakin needed to walk his own path," Obi-Wan replied, "Your path and your sister's path is with the Order. His simply took him in another direction."

"What direction exactly? How could he walk away from the Order when he was the Chosen One? Didn't that mean anything?"

"Why are you asking me all these questions, Luke?"

Rather than address Obi-Wan's growing alarm, Luke answered his question with a question of his own. "Did something happen that made him leave?" he pressed anxiously, "Did he do something bad? Did…did he really leave the Order…or was he expelled?"

Obi-Wan became visibly rigid though his features were impassive and calm when he asked, "Where is this coming from? Who have you been talking to?"

His refusal to answer Luke directly was worrisome. While Obi-Wan was discomfited by Luke's rampant curiosity, Luke was discomfited to realize that his old mentor knew was something involving his father's past that he wanted to avoid discussing. His reluctance to talk about that thing only heightened Luke's rabid curiosity. Although he couldn't imagine what secrets his old master was concealing, it was obviously something major or he wouldn't be expending so much effort to keep it secret. The realization caused Luke's breathing to quicken.

"No one. I haven't spoken to anyone," he lied, "I was curious about what my dad was like before because he seems so different now. That's all."

"If you have questions, you should ask Anakin," Obi-Wan advised, "Ask him directly."

"I know! I know! It's not your story," Luke recited with youthful impatience, "I get it! I'll talk to him." Obi-Wan sighed his name in longsuffering, undoubtedly poised to prod him so more but Luke was quick to cut him off. "I should go now, Ben. I think Uncle Owen wants my help with the vaporators. Tell Aunt Satine I said 'hello.' I'll be in touch again soon."

He was swift to end the communication before Obi-Wan could respond and then quickly silenced his commlink in the event Ben might try to contact him again. Sure enough, he did, but Luke watched it flash rather than answering. After several minutes, it finally stopped.

Clearly, he wasn't the only one who had been left unsatisfied with their brief exchange, but Luke couldn't afford to revisit the conversation. He knew Ben well enough to discern that the old man wouldn't stop pushing until he got the truth. Besides that, Luke was stubborn. If Obi-Wan wasn't going to give him answers, then he wasn't going to get any from Luke in return either.

Still, Luke was disheartened. The conversation with Obi-Wan failed to yield any insight whatsoever and it had raised even more questions for him too. Luke knew there was something about his father's past that Obi-Wan refused to tell him. His own grandmother had even implied that Anakin Skywalker hadn't always made the wisest choices. "He could be a dark soul plagued by even darker demons," she'd often told him.

Luke sensed none of that darkness now, though he was sure based on Obi-Wan's circumspect behavior, that side of his father must exist. Whether that meant that Anakin Skywalker was truly a crazed animal capable of viciously attacking his own wife remained to be seen, but Luke had his doubts. After all, Obi-Wan had urged him to trust his father. He'd been adamant about that. He would never have insisted on such a thing if Anakin Skywalker was as evil as Leia claimed, especially if whatever mysteries he was harboring could potentially harm either of them. There was a secret just as Leia had alleged all along, but it wasn't that.

Regardless, Luke still needed answers. If Obi-Wan wasn't going to be transparent with him, then he would have to seek out the only other beings that would. Left with even fewer options then, Luke went off in search of Threepio and Artoo. After a few minutes of combing the Lars' homestead, he found them on the family's ship. Artoo was performing a routine maintenance check while Threepio harangued him about everything he was doing wrong. Luke lingered near the threshold of the engine room for a moment, oddly comforted by the sound of their petty bickering.

Threepio was the first to become aware of his presence and acknowledge it. "Oh, Master Luke! My word, where did you come from? Must you and Miss Leia always move with such stealth?"

Luke smirked at him. "Sorry, Threepio. I didn't mean to startle you."

"If you are looking for your sister, I'm afraid she's gone after Mistress Padmé again." He tsked to himself soundly. "I'm beginning to believe that child might have attachment issues…"

"Yes…well…I'm not looking for Leia. I was looking for you and Artoo. I wanted to ask you both some questions."

"Oh splendid, Master Luke!" Threepio cried, "I am well suited to provide you with any answers you require. In addition to being versed in over 5 million languages and dialects, I have a broad knowledge of several subjects, including philosophy, history, mathematics, and mechanical engineering. Shall I access my data banks for you, sir?"

"It's not that sort of question, Threepio." Artoo, whose attention had been focused on his repairs the entire time, whistled sharply, and spun his dome to acknowledge Luke for the first time since his arrival. Luke rolled his eyes at the astromech's impatient admonishment. "Yes, I'll make it fast. I can see that you're busy."

Threepio tapped Artoo's domed head lightly with a chastising smack. "You needn't be so rude, you incorrigible bucket of bolts!"

Before they could fall into another round of their usual back and forth banter, Luke quickly interrupted, "I was wondering if either of you remember taking a trip with my parents…perhaps to a planet that was made of lava? It would have happened before I was born."

"I should hope not!" Threepio sniffed disdainfully, "That sounds like a perfectly dreadful place for a holiday!"

"It wasn't a vacation, Threepio," Luke explained, "I think my father would have gone there for work, and my mother would have joined him later. Do you remember a trip like that?" He watched them carefully for any signs of fidgety unease following his question, but Threepio continued to regard him blankly while Artoo was simply annoyed. He responded with a terse series of beeps before promptly returning to his abandoned task. "What do you mean it 'never happened'?" Luke cried in exasperation, "You didn't even take two parsecs to even think about it!"

Artoo immediately retorted with an extensive trill of beeps and whistles. He only knew of three planets that might fit that description: Lola Sayu, Sullust, and Mustafar. His mother had never been to any of them to his knowledge, but Anakin had been on several covert missions to the first two during his career as Director of the GFCA. Mustafar, however, he had strictly avoided. It was the only time Artoo had ever known him to delegate his missions. For reasons unknown to the astromech, Anakin Skywalker hated that planet utterly.

"And you're sure that he was never with my mom on any of them?" Luke pressed, left even more confused by this new information, "Think hard! She would have been pregnant with me at the time."

"Master Luke, your parents have been to many places together," Threepio said, "But I am quite sure that none of those places involved boiling hot magna!" Artoo tooted his emphatic agreement. While Luke turned over that information in his mind and tried to make sense of their claims based on what Leia had told him, Threepio, noting his obvious distress, sought to soothe him.

"R2-D2 has an extensive holovid collection of your parents' holidays together. Perhaps, you would like to see them?" he offered. Artoo whistled his indignance over being offered up as tribute, especially when he had work to do. "Oh, stop your bellyaching!" Threepio huffed, "It will only take a moment!"

Luke had been largely ignorant of the fact that the holovids even existed. While he and Leia had certainly viewed footage of their parents' wedding day on Naboo before and had secretly watched it on loop countless times, neither of them had ever suspected there might be more footage of their parents' life together and Artoo had not ever volunteered the information. Luke wondered vaguely if that had been at Padmé's request, perhaps because there was something dark about her husband that she wanted to hide. But as Artoo projected his years of recorded footage, Luke quickly discerned that wasn't the case either.

There were numerous holovids of them together that Artoo had logged over the course of their three-year marriage before his father disappeared. What struck Luke was a single, common theme in every frame. They were laughing and obviously happy and that was apparent scene after scene. He watched the images play with rapt fascination.

Snippets of his parents watching the sun rise from a balcony overlooking a choppy sea while they enjoyed a morning caf together. Wintry scenes with his mother and father pelting snowballs at each other like children. Moments with Anakin being a general nuisance to Padmé and her swatting him away while he complained that it "wasn't much of a vacation if she spent the whole time working." The two of them frolicking in the waters at Varykino as they tossed the squealing baby version of himself between them in a playful game. And stolen kisses. So many sweet, stolen kisses that at one point his father looked directly at Artoo and warned darkly, "Artoo, you'd better not be recording this!" before the image abruptly blackened.

They had been in love back then. Luke could see that plainly. And they were still very much in love now. As a result, he couldn't reconcile what he was seeing with his own eyes and what he knew for sure in his heart with Leia's unwavering conviction that Anakin Skywalker was a threat to their family. Once again, Luke circled back to his original theory. Whatever Leia thought she knew about their father; it was becoming painfully obvious that the old woman had put it there.

He was in over his head, and he knew it. He didn't have a choice anymore. Luke had to go to his parents with the truth. He couldn't help Leia, but it was possible that they could. He only hoped that his sister would one day be able to forgive him for betraying her trust.

The sharpened edge of the tool sliced deeply into his palm, and Anakin bit out a blistering curse in response, but not due to pain. He barely felt that at all. In fact, only seconds after he sustained the deep gash, the wound in his palm sealed itself together without even the faintest trace of a scar. He didn't even bleed. Anakin wasn't sure if he still could.

"Do you need a bandage?"

Anakin abruptly jerked to attention to find Owen Lars striding towards him with a concerned frown. He stared at his brother blankly. "What did you say?"

"I asked if you cut yourself. Are you bleeding right now?"

"No," Anakin reassured him quickly. He reflexively concealed his hand in guilty reaction even though there was no remaining evidence of what had occurred only moments before. "My hand slipped. I'm distracted, and it's taking me longer than I anticipated to complete these repairs. Your interruption isn't helping."

"You're grumpy today, I see."

"I'm grumpy every day," Anakin muttered.

But far from driving Owen away, Anakin's foul mood seemed to compel his brother to linger instead. He perched himself on the empty stool adjacent to Anakin's workbench. "You're worried about Leia, aren't you?"

"Am I that obvious?" Anakin sighed miserably.

"You always come out here when you're troubled about something."

Anakin didn't bother denying the charge. Despite his ten-year absence, Owen Lars still knew his younger brother's habits rather well. It had always been Anakin's inclination to fix the tangible when he couldn't repair the intangible. It was his way of reasserting control.

What Owen didn't know was that Anakin wasn't only preoccupied with the growing rift between him and his daughter. Lately, even Luke had become inexplicably distant with him. He, like Leia, had taken to deliberately avoiding Anakin…unless Anakin was with Padmé, then both Luke and Leia were adamant about following him wherever he went. And while he could have easily searched their feelings to discover the reason for their odd behavior towards him, Anakin didn't want to do that. He would much rather have his children confide in him outright. He wanted them to trust him.

But that was starting to seem like an impossible thing, and it was spreading. Padmé also had been acting strangely towards him. She wasn't so much withdrawn as she was silent, almost as if she was waiting for something dreadful to happen. Anakin knew that his secret was only creating further conflict between them, but he was still reluctant to reveal the truth to her. He was secretly afraid that if she knew what he'd become it might change the way she felt about him. If that happened…if he lost her too, it would break him.

He wished devoutly that he could have his mother's listening ear. It was disconcerting for him to admit as a full-grown man, but he needed his mother. He needed her wisdom. Unfortunately, she and Cliegg had left for Coruscant at Mon Mothma's request shortly before his family's arrival on Tatooine. Anakin had missed her departure by literal hours.

Further, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan weren't an option for him either. Confiding in Ahsoka would most certainly mean telling her the truth about all of it and there was no way that she would be willing to keep his secret from Padmé. As for Obi-Wan, he would continue to harp on Anakin's need to come clean with Padmé himself, as he had been doing for the past several weeks now. That was the exact reason that Anakin had been ignoring his repeated comms all afternoon. He was hardly in the mood for another lecture.

That left only Owen, who didn't completely understand what Anakin was going through and would be unable to comprehend it even if he did. Still, Anakin appreciated that Owen, at least, tried to offer some comforting advice even if it was mostly bad. His counsel was succinct and to the point.

"Girls are different," he declared sagely.

"That's it?" Anakin scoffed, "That's your kernel of wisdom? 'Girls are different?'"

"Well, they are!" Owen insisted, "They carry all this emotional baggage. They read some underlying meaning in every word you say. Every topic requires intense discussion. It's like traipsing through a landmine. You always need to be extra careful where you step."

"I'm shocked. That is an oddly appropriate analogy, Owen."

"I'm just saying that Leia is all wound up now because she's still getting to know you," Owen said, "But she'll come around eventually once she gets everything straight in her own mind. Men? We accept change and we get over it. Women? They have to stew. So, I repeat…girls are different."

"And what about Luke? Now he's being standoffish with me too."

"He's trying to be loyal to his sister. Anyone with eyes can see that kid adores you."

"And I adore him," Anakin replied, "I adore them both. But this transition hasn't been easy at all."

"Yeah…well, being dead for ten years will do that, baby brother."

"Thanks," Anakin deadpanned, "You've been helpful as always."

"You know what your problem is?"

"No, I don't, but I know you're going to tell me because you always do!"

"Stop trying to control everything, Ani. It always works out in the end, doesn't it?"

"He has a point," Padmé observed softly from the threshold of the mechanical shed, "You should listen to him, Anakin."

Owen offered an affectionate smile to his sister-in-law and shifted to his feet. "And on that note, I think I'll take myself off."

"You don't have to go," Padmé protested, "I wasn't trying to chase you away, Owen."

"It's fine," Owen reassured her as he passed, pausing briefly to peck a brotherly kiss to her cheek, "I suspect that you two probably need to talk anyway. I'll see you both later."

Anakin craned a cautious glance over Padmé's shoulder once they were alone. "Where are your shadows?" he asked sardonically, "Are they close behind?"

"Thankfully not for a change," Padmé snorted wryly, taking the seat that Owen had vacated, "I feel like I can breathe for the first time in days!"

"Have you been feeling smothered, my love?"

"That is an understatement."

Anakin returned his attention to the repairs he'd been making earlier. "At least they want to be with you." Though he tried to keep his quip lighthearted, as if he were merely making a joke, Padmé could easily detect the despondency that lurked in his undertone.

"We should talk about that," she replied quietly. It was the solemn tenor in her voice that prompted Anakin to set aside his tools and meet her gaze. "I know the reason that Leia's been avoiding you, Anakin."

He blinked at her in a startled doubletake. "You do?"

"She can sense that you're keeping something from me, and it's making her mistrust you."

"Padmé, I don't know if that's—,"

"—It's past time that we had a conversation about it, don't you think?"

He didn't want to have a conversation about it. In fact, Anakin would have gladly avoided that discussion for eternity if he could. But, at the same time, he knew that maintaining his secret was also negatively impacting his family. As reluctant as he was to have things change, the price of maintaining his silence was becoming far too high.

"Alright," he sighed in resignation, "What do you want to know?"

"Tell me about Mortis," she said, "What happened to you when you were there?"

"I woke up on Mortis after Dathomir," he recounted, "I don't know how I got there at all. But when I opened my eyes, you were gone and the Father was standing over me. I thought I had lost you."

"I know this part already."

Anakin nodded. "But what you don't know is that the Father asked me to stay. You see, he had two children, a son and a daughter, and they were like him. They each embodied the dark and light sides of the Force and there was continual conflict between them. The Father wanted me to stay so that I could maintain balance between his children."

"Because you are the Chosen One?"

"Yes."

"He forced you to stay?" Padmé concluded, her voice trembling with answer.

"No," Anakin answered with a hesitant shake of his head, "He convinced me to stay."

"I don't understand. What does that mean? What are you telling me?"

Anakin averted his eyes with a guilty frown as he whispered his confession. "I wasn't held on Mortis, Padmé. I chose to stay there."

It took several seconds for Padmé to fully absorb his broken declaration because she was too stunned to even process what he had said. At first, she merely blinked at him in mute confusion because she couldn't possibly imagine any scenario where Anakin would deliberately avoid returning to his family. The very idea struck her as ludicrous, inconceivable. But the longer she stared at him, the more cognizant she became aware of the regret and contrition that was etched into every line of his face.

Without even being aware of it, Padmé found herself gradually withdrawing from him with a dawning grimace of dismay. She shifted to her feet and stared down at him wordlessly, shaking her head in agitated disbelief. "I…I don't believe what I'm hearing," she uttered thickly, "Are you telling me that you purposely allowed us to believe you were dead for ten years?"

"No! That is not what happened!"

"But you chose to stay! Those are your words, not mine, Anakin!"

"I thought you were dead," he rushed to explain, "and I thought that was my fault. The Father said—,"

"—The Father?" Padmé interrupted with rising ire, "I don't want to hear about the Father! I don't care about any of that! How could you do that to me? How could you destroy me like that?"

"You need to understand something, Padmé! I stayed on Mortis because I thought I was fulfilling my destiny," he told her, scrambling to his feet when she began pacing wildly, "I ran away from it once before and… I did terrible things, and you died. Our baby died. I destroyed everything! And then it happened all over again. It felt like the Force was telling me that I needed to make a different choice!"

She whipped to face him, her expression filled with wrathful anguish. "A different choice? What does that even mean?"

"I needed not to be selfish for once in my life! I needed to stay."

"Not be selfish? Anakin, what you did was nothing but selfish! What about your son?" Padmé cried, plainly unsatisfied with that answer, "And your mother? All your family and friends? What about all the people you left behind? Do you have any idea how they all grieved for you? Or did you think that you had lost them too?"

"It's not that simple."

"Seems like to me it is! Seems like you let them all believe that you were dead to fulfil your destiny?"

"I never knew that I had been presumed dead, Padmé! Never!"

"And what conclusion did you expect everyone to draw when you never came back home, Anakin?" She dragged her shaking hands down the length of her face. "I can't believe what I'm hearing right now!"

"You don't understand! I didn't want that life, but I couldn't run from it any longer! I had already done it twice before and with disastrous results!"

"Anakin…" she began, her words so garbled with tears and anguish that he barely recognized his name on her lips, "I realize that there are things about you…about the Force that I will never completely understand, but do you have any idea…any inkling of the utter hell you put me through?"

"I never intended that," he sobbed brokenly, "I never wanted any of this! I never asked for this responsibility, but it's mine! It's the entire reason for my existence. I am the balance in the Force. It's the reason I was created. I was an answer."

"That's wonderful that you've found your purpose in all of this, but… I didn't ask for it either," she bit out stonily.

"I wasn't going to disappear! That was never my plan. I was going to find a way to tell everyone the truth, but then something happened, and I couldn't! That was how I lost ten years! It wasn't supposed to turn out like this."

"And how was it supposed to turn out, Anakin?"

"I was supposed to protect you all."

Padmé bit out a short, mirthless laugh. "There you go again…turning our lives upside down because you must control everything." She slumped forward and shook her head in disappointment. "You never did learn, did you?"

"I thought I was doing the right thing." She scoffed at his lackluster declaration and started to stalk away, but Anakin made a desperate grab for her before she could flee. He wrapped his arms around her plaintively when she tried to fight him off.

"Please don't go," he begged softly, "Please, Padmé. Don't leave…"

"I don't know what you want me to say," she sobbed, jerking from his arms, "You lied to me, and this is so much! It's too much, Anakin!"

"I didn't lie. I just didn't know how to tell you the entire truth."

"And is that all of it?" she asked him in a wooden tone, "Do I have the entire truth now?" Anakin slowly, hesitantly shook his head. Padmé stumbled back a step. "What more could there possibly be?"

"Mortis changed me," he whispered, "It changed me in ways that I'm still trying to understand."

The cold, leaden weight of dread settled low into Padmé's gut. She didn't want to ask him her next question, would have gladly left it unspoken. But she also knew that denial had served them little these past few weeks. She couldn't afford to indulge it further.

"Changed you how?"

"It would be easier if I showed you," he said softly.

Anakin was acutely aware of her wary stare as he turned to retrieve the tool he had abandoned at the onset of their conversation. He brought the wedge of durasteel against his skin and slowly drew the bladed edge up the length of his bare forearm. Padmé startled protest of horror curdled in her throat. She watched in disbelief as his cleaved flesh immediately resealed itself behind the drag of the blade.

There was no blood. No scar. It was as if he hadn't made the deep gash at all. She whimpered in trembling stupefaction to witness it, flinching away from his touch when he tossed the tool aside and dared to step closer to draw her into his arms.

"I'm pretty sure I can't die now," Anakin informed her in a matter-of-fact tone, "At least not by traditional means."

"How…I…you…who…how long have you known this?" she uttered finally when she was able to string together a coherent sentence.

"Consciously? Since the push against Tarkin. But I think I've truly known all along."

"What does this mean?" she asked, inching back from him in measured, wary steps, "How can you do that? What are you now?"

"I'm your husband. I'm the father of your children," Anakin insisted, "I am the man who loves you more than anything. That hasn't changed, Padmé! That will never change!"

"Answer the question! What are you?"

"I'm me. I'm still me."

"No…you're not. I don't know who you are."

"This is why I didn't want to tell you," he muttered, "Because of the way you're looking at me right now!"

"I'm looking at you this way because you lied to me," she replied, "And I thought we were past that."

She started to turn on her heel to rush out of there, determined not to dissolve into anguished sobs in front of him but as soon as Padmé turned to run, she practically collided with Luke, who came barreling inside just as she started to exit. Although she was quick to avert her face to surreptitiously brush away the tears on her cheeks and compose herself as much as she could, Luke could tell from the stricken expression on both of their faces that something awful had happened. Luke didn't need the Force to draw conclusions about what that was either. He glared at his mother in betrayed affront.

"You forced him to talk about it, didn't you?" he accused her, "Even after I asked you…"

"Luke, the conversation needed to happen," she reasoned with him gently, "You know that." She tried to touch his shoulder, hoping to lessen the sting she knew her actions had caused him, but he shrugged her away with an obstinate scowl.

"No. I don't know that at all, Mom! But it doesn't matter. Not right now." He looked over towards his father. "There are more important things."

"Things like what?" Anakin asked in a gruff tone, dragging his disheartened gaze from Padmé, "Has something happened?"

Luke jerked a terse nod. "It's Leia. She's in trouble."